Stephen C. Paddock

[lovemydogs]

There is very little information about Mr. Paddock, the man who murdered 58 people and left 489 injured.

Even in light of a couple of days with police and an army of reporters digging through his background and life, very little about him is known.

He was not close with his family and was not on speaking terms with 2 of his 3 brothers. His mother is 90 and in a nursing home.
No close friends or neighbors. He moved around alot. No activity on social media.

The only thing that stands out is that his father was a bank robber with suicidal tendencies and a 'psychotic'.

Nothing is said about the father's psychosis.

But, one thing I've learned is that illnesses tend to run in families. It is amazing how much of the medical problems people have can be traced to someone in their family and not always just immediate family.

If the dad had suicidal tendencies, was he suffering from depression, which is something that can run in families. And what was the psychosis?

Sometimes things like this do not manifest themselves in your early years.

I know people who were perfectly okay who became mentally off in their 40s and 50s and family history had some mental illness of some kind involved.

I have no education in the medical field. This is just my observation and what I've seen over life and have experienced myself.

But, I just cannot shake the feeling that Mr. Paddock's actions can be traced to his father. Something triggered it, Somewhere along the way he destabilized. Maybe he was never stable but, was so high functioning and in his life he was able to maintain a rather low profile and go through life not really knowing people or being close to anyone that everything flew under the radar.

But, I am hoping there is a look at the link between his father and him.

[malaise]

1. But, I just cannot shake the feeling that Mr. Paddock's actions can be traced to his father

Interesting thread. I have been wondering whether his innate hatred of his father made him want to show all a real crime.

[lovemydogs]

3. Or inheriting some of his mental problems. both, maybe

I just know that I have several conditions that someone in my family had or has.
And I've seen my ex-brother in law go from normal in his 20s and 30s to have some real problems after 40. His dad committed suicide and we don't know intimate details of his mental state but, apparently he had some problems.

[malaise]

7. Many medical conditions are genetic so your theory is possible

but I suspect he that he also hid his anger at the missing father very well.

[Dem_4_Life]

16. I agree with both of these comments.

A lot of mental conditions are genetic and I am sure having a missing father in his life especially in those circumstances must have had some kind of impact on his life.

[LeftInTX]

31. I can't shake the feeling either, but I have another take

He was genetically alot like his father. His father was cold and calculating.
I think he just ended up like him, but instead of bank robbery, he decided on mass murder

[malaise]

32. Makes sense

[Not Ruth]

2. There might be a link, but at 64 years old, with no criminal or mental health history

How is that going to help?

[lovemydogs]

4. Its good to know what might have caused it.

I am someone who would like to know what caused someone to do something.
There is always a reason.

[hlthe2b]

5. death count up to 59, sadly

[Dem_4_Life]

15. In the press conference yesterday they confirmed 58 plus the shooter is 59.

58 innocent victims so sad.

[Demsrule86]

6. I have different theory. It is my belief that those who collect guns excessively as this guy did

eventually want to kill a person...target and lesser animals just get boring after a while...this is why so many of them are trigger happy to the point of shooting a guy stealing diapers from Walmart...it is similar to porn...supposedly eventually you want the real thing.

[Sneederbunk]

10. Could not agree more. A gun nut that acted out his fantasy.

[Demsrule86]

17. This is what I think...those who collect (not the civil war or what have you buffs) but

those that want AR's and the like...multiples...have a fantasy and a certain percentage will act it out.

[Solomon]

25. I've said this for years. It's human nature to get tired of practicing all the time.

Eventually you want to do the real thing.

[Demsrule86]

29. Yes that is what I think.

[ProudLib72]

8. While I get where you are going with this

I think what is more telling is your description of him in the first half of your post: a loner, no connection to family, no activity on social media. Whether or not he inherited psychotic tendencies from his father, he exhibited some seriously anti-social behavior for years prior to the shooting. Wouldn't it be wiser to look at the individual's behavior instead of possible genetic traits?

BTW: I'm looking at this as a way to tell who is going on the next rampage. You might be looking at this as a purely clinical study unrelated to identifying possible shooters.

[Tavarious Jackson]

12. Couple your theory with compulsive gambling. nt

[ProudLib72]

13. There are multiple traits

Each trait by itself might not be a red flag, but together they paint the picture of a sociopath.

But how you identify someone who exhibits all the traits when they are completely disconnected from the world?

[Man_Bear_Pig]

34. So what are you getting at?

Perhaps a law that says "you must leave your house for so many hours a day to show you are a smiley citizen. You must maintain relationships with family. If you have no surviving family, you must get relationships that prove you are social. You must also post x many happy posts, that we believe you mean, per week. Failure will be non-compliance, labeling you an unhappy citizen. Unhappy citizens shall be arrested".

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. all interesting - good post..thanks. I have a thought, though, as well

I have no issues with hunting - certainly understand that our feeling of guns is deeply tied into how and where we grew up, nature/nurture, all that. I have no issue with people eating what they kill - hunting as a food source. I understand people that feel in danger and feel the need to defend themselves. (when I say I understand, it is me stretching beyond my natural tendency to be a complete dove - never had, fired, or desired a gun).

I have less understanding in the "sport" aspect, particularly with weapons that are so over the top that it is so far beyond hunting and sport. It becomes - what? - destruction. Violence. Killing.

So - your OP in an academic - perhaps empathetic - sense - is worth a good think.

The problem, which operates in parallel with trying to figure out the motive, is realizing that in many cases it is not possible to identify the trigger in someone - especially beforehand - that can lead to such mayhem.

And because of that, it has to be about ensuring a reduction in these weapons whose only real use seems to be mass killing.

[maxrandb]

11. I don't give a fuck if he was Atila the Hun

He shouldn't have been able to waltz into a store and walk out with 100 round magazines and bump stocks.

Donnie Short Fingers likes to say how "lucky" we are that the police got to him before he shredded a thousand more people like Swiss cheese.

I prefer to think of how much carnage could have been prevented if he was only able to have a 6 round revolver.

It's the fucking guns!!!!

People go batshit crazy in this country all the time... most don't take out 700 of their fellow Americans when they do.

Do you realize that more people were injured in this incident than at the Pentagon on 9/11

[Demsrule86]

18. Also, thousands would be dead has a security guard not walked by...

He thought the police were on to him and shot himself...he killed 59 in less than 15 minutes...imagine if he had the full 50 minutes it took the cops to break down his door.

[tblue37]

19. He also tried to set off explosions by shooting at aviation fuel tanks near the venue.

(That is what the second window looked out on.)

Fortunately (!!) the bullets did not pierce the fuel tanks, but Congress is trying to pass legislation permitting "regular folks" like Paddock to purchase armor piercing bullets, so if he had waited a bit for that to pass, maybe he could have achieved all of his goals. </sarcasm> (Just to make sure no one misinterprets my post.)

[Demsrule86]

30. Terrifying...I fail to see how Congress can keep up this shit.

[politicaljunkie41910]

14. I have a theory on how we could perhaps cut down on gun violence. Bear with me.

First and foremost, I'm not joking or trying to make fun of a tragic situation. I'm angry and I'm trying to find a way to deter this insane behavior and I don't believe Congress specifically Repugnants are ever going to act on any significant gun control legislation in my lifetime, and damn it I'm tired of waiting.

My guess and the basis of my theory is that the killer had a 'little dick' and had to compensate with big guns. After all, his girlfriend was a very small woman and maybe she was fine with a man with a small penis, as women don't worry about these things as much as some men do. Maybe the Coroner will confirm my theory because everyone knows a guy with a big package would never commit suicide. He would want to live forever. Who knows, it might even cut down on gun killings if thee police announce that they have determined that there is a correlation between mass gun killers and small penis size, (even if there is no 'proven theory' or the 'theory' later (say 100 years from now) turned out to be wrong), and make it a practice to start recording mass gun killers penis size as part of the study and reporting this information publicly and the smaller size reported the better. Everyone would then know he suffered from an inadequate package and that's what he'd be forever known for, rather than being notorious for setting a record for the most killings. He wouldn't be known for being an accountant with a net worth of nearly $2 million, or a good son, or having been head of his Neighborhood Watch, etc, but forever known for how small his penis was, and we would all have pity on him and this would be the deterrent for others thinking about this as the blaze of glory they want to go out in.

[ecstatic]

21. Interesting... If that could be implemented, I'd be all for it,

but I can already picture republicans objecting. Male dignity must be protected at all costs.

[Not Ruth]

22. If he is dead, how would you know how big his penis was?

[DVRacer]

28. And men would all go George Costanza

I was in the water you know shrinkage!

[LisaL]

20. That's not accurate.

Father didn't have psychosis. Father was described as psychopathic, not psychotic.
It's not one and the same at all.

[Not Ruth]

23. "not on speaking terms with 2 of his 3 brothers"

That said it all to me, but everyone who was in a similar situation disagreed with me.

[Phentex]

24. I suspect that is not really unusual...

just in my tiny circle of family and friends, I know plenty of people who have cut ties with relatives. I think if you combine it with the other traits, it might mean something but that fact alone doesn't say it all.

[Rene]

26. I have a feeling that he was losing bigly in the casinos..blowing thru his 'fortune'.

was panicking because his gambling was out of control/losing lots of money.

[Hoyt]

27. Study: Handling (stroking) a gun makes men's testosterone levels rise and makes them more aggressive

Hence the name "Gun-Stroker" (IMO)

https://www.webmd.com/men/news/20060728/guns-up-testosterone-male-aggression


I do think that people who practice to shoot others are much more likely to do so. Does the training make them more likely, or is it the fact they even want to train for that kind of crap?

There are also studies that appear to link guns and racism.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/gun-ownership-racism_n_4220727.html

[canetoad]

35. The germ of a theory

There's been disconnected bits of information all over the internet since the shooting. Many articles I've read describe an almost pathological aversion to interacting with other people.

Many recalled seeing Paddock at a bar named Peggy Sue’s and Eureka Casino. They described him as silent, sullen — never talking to anyone.


The emerging portrait of Paddock suggests a man of considerable means who liked guns, gambling and women, but who so disliked interacting with people that he sought to avoid talking to them.


The aversion to human interaction even extended into Paddock’s flying, said the broker, who, like Paddock, enjoyed piloting personal planes.
At the time of their acquaintance, Paddock had a sleek new aircraft — a Cirrus SR20. On the handful of flights they made together, Paddock would map out his path — steering away from controlled areas — just to avoid having to talk to the air traffic

What if he personally felt so superior, so above all others that he wouldn't deign to lower himself to speak to them. I've met one or two people over the years who acted in this way. Far above and beyond the common concept of a loner or introvert. It's possible he was stewing in his own perceived superiority and disregard for other humans.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/03/new-details-emerge-about-las-vegas-shooter-stephen-paddock-and-girlfriend-marilou-danley/